Reviewed by Will Martin, MEd, BCBA, Head of ESDM Implementation at Soar Autism Center
If the hardest parts of your day are the transitions – from pajamas to clothes, from the car to the daycare door, from the bath to bed, a visual schedule can help prepare your child for what happens next. Many children with autism can struggle with shifting expectations and prefer clearer structure, so a visual schedule shows your child what is happening now and what comes next, using real objects, photos, or pictures. The idea of building a shared plan and setting expectations ahead of time can help manage the uncertainty of moving from one activity to another.
Many visual guides are for classroom settings, and our team at Soar often uses them to prepare children for their day of therapy. However, these tools can be just as effective at home. This guide covers how to tell which kind of schedule your child is ready for, how to make one for free with your phone, card-by-card routines you can copy, and what to do when it’s not working.
You don’t need to be crafty to try these at-home visual schedules, and your child does not need to be diagnosed with autism, many young children can benefit from visual expectation setting.
Why Visual Schedules Help, in ESDM Terms
At Soar, therapy is a naturalistic, interactive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy built on the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), which works through the routines and play already part of a child’s day. A visual schedule for autism fits right into that approach.
- Routines are where learning happens. Soar’s therapists teach through joint activity routines, which are shared activities with a clear beginning, middle, and end. A schedule gives your home routines that same shape.
- Motivation comes from what your child loves. A schedule built around your child’s favorite things, and choices they get to make, gives them a reason to join in.
- Predictability frees up attention. A child who knows what comes next is not bracing for a surprise, which leaves more room for words, gestures, and play.
Our therapists use schedules during the many different transitions, like arriving, cleaning up, transitioning activities, and heading home. Parent and caregiver coaching is part of Soar’s ESDM-based care, so your child’s team can help you set up the same, or similar, visuals at home to create consistency between what they see in center and what they experience at home.
Start With Two Cards: The First-Then Board
The smallest visual schedule is a first-then board: two pictures, side by side. “First” shows what needs to happen now. “Then” shows what comes right after, ideally something your child looks forward to. First shoes, then playground. First bath, then books.
For many toddlers, it’s the right place to start. Your child only has to hold one step and one reason in mind, not a whole morning. Some children use a first-then board for months before they need anything longer, and that is fine.
How to Make a Visual Schedule at Home for Free
- Pick one routine or small section of the day. It could be the one you’ve been working on getting right the most, or one you think your child will gravitate to the most to begin . Don’t schedule the whole day yet, starting small and specific can help you get started.
- List three or four activities that will happen through the day. Try and get as specific to your child’s individual routine as possible.
- Choose photos or pictures. Photos of your own home and the specific step can be the easiest place to start for most toddlers. Take a phone photo of your child doing each step, or of the real object, like their toothbrush, car seat, or front door. You can also find icons, pictures and drawings online that can support with each step if needed.
- Print and cut. Business-card size works. Cover the cards with clear packing tape so they last. Visual schedules can also been shown on a phone or tablet if you’d prefer to not have to print them out.
- Attach them in order. Tape a strip of cardboard to the fridge or wall and stick the cards on with tape or velcro dots.
- Add an “all done” pocket. An envelope works. Moving a card into it is what makes the schedule real for your child. You can also have them take the picture to the location where the activity happens and drop it off. For example, if teeth-brushing is next, have a dropoff area for the toothbrush card in their bathroom.
- Put it where the routine happens, at your child’s eye level, not yours.
What you need to make a visual schedule at home:
☐ Your phone, for photos
☐ A printer
☐ Scissors and clear packing tape
☐ A strip of cardboard and tape or velcro dots
☐ An envelope for finished activities
Five Routines Examples
If you’re not quite sure where to start, we’ve listed a few routines that parents have shared are often difficult with their kiddo in order to get you thinking about where your family could use help.
|
Routine |
Cards |
Tip
|
|---|---|---|
|
Morning |
Wake up, potty or diaper, get dressed, breakfast |
Put the strip where your child wakes up and go through it before anyone is rushing |
|
Leaving the house |
Shoes, coat, car seat, where you are going |
Use a photo of the actual place, like grandma’s door or the grocery store to set expectations of what will happen once there |
|
Daycare drop-off |
Car, classroom door, hang up backpack, hug, wave bye-bye |
The classroom may have a schedule that shows the day until pickup, so a similar expectation is there to help your child through the day |
|
Bath and bedtime |
Bath, pajamas, teeth, a song, books, bed |
Include steps your child enjoys; support and encourage during each step |
|
Doctor or haircut visit |
Car, waiting room, the visit, sticker or snack, home |
Review in the days before to set expectations for visits that don’t happen often, and bring the strip with you to walk through each step |
How to Introduce a Visual Schedule at Home
- Introduce it on a calm day. Walk through the schedule once when nothing is at stake.
- Point, say, do, move. Point to the picture, say the step in the same simple, natural words each time, do it together, and move the card to “all done.”
- Give a heads-up, then a choice. Let your child know a step is coming before you get there, then offer a choice in how to do it. Do they want the red shirt or the blue one? Brush teeth sitting or standing? In ESDM, children help lead the activity, and a choice makes the step theirs.
- Build excitement around the transition moments. Do they want to listen to a song as they move from one activity to another? Stomp like dinosaurs or waddle like penguins? Creating fun, and additional choices, allow your child to be engaged and you to join in, too.
- Be flexible. Even if the beginning was messy, continue to the next step. Try different ways to get your child interested in the process and continue what works, while moving away from what doesn’t.
What to do if the Schedule Isn’t Working
As with many new things, almost every family hits a snag in the first weeks of implementing visual reminders. Don’t let that discourage you! Be flexible, focus on what’s working, and tweak what’s not.
|
What is happening |
Try this
|
|---|---|
|
Your child pulls all the steps off without doing each |
Lean into their interest! Encourage your child to be the one who pulls off each step and place it into the “all done” location, pulling the cards is signaling their interest. Once one is pulled, put the schedule out of reach until the step is in motion so they can’t continue to pull them all off! |
|
Your child ignores it |
Check that the pictures are ones your child recognizes and that the schedule is at their eye level. You may try mixing up the schedule with a shorter strip, new images that align to their interests (maybe superhero-themed would grab their attention more!), or get them to help build a new one to get them engaged. |
|
Your child melts down when a card they do not like comes up |
Make that step more fun. Point to the card a little ahead of time so it isn’t a surprise, then give your child a choice in how to do it, like which shirt to wear or whether to brush teeth sitting or standing. Turning the step into a game or a song can help too. |
|
Plans change and the schedule is wrong |
Add a “change” card, like a question mark. Swap the card the moment you know, and say it simply: “Oh, the plan changed! It’s raining, so no park today. First snack, then puzzles.” |
|
It worked, then stopped |
Routines drift. Go back to fewer cards for a week, then build up again. |
It’s also important to remember that not every system or tactic works for every child. If a visual system continues to feel more burdensome than beneficial, it’s likely time to try something new. If your child is working with a therapy team, reach out to their Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) for additional methods to consider trying or skills that they can also help work on in therapy sessions.
Getting Grandparents, Siblings, and Daycare on the Same Page
A schedule works best when everyone uses the same pictures and the same words.
- Make copies. One for the fridge, one for grandma’s house, one for the daycare classroom.
- Give older siblings a job. Letting a big brother or sister hand over the “then” card makes them part of it.
- Ask your child’s therapist which pictures they use, so home and therapy match. Parent and caregiver coaching is part of Soar’s ESDM-based care, so your child’s team can help you set up the same pictures at home.
All kids, and many adults, do well with set expectations, and these visual schedules can help them feel more at ease with their day, as well as make transitions smoother for the whole family. If you have any questions about your child’s behavior or what works for them, reach out to their BCBA who may have additional insights into your child’s behaviors.
FAQs
How Do You Use a Visual Schedule for Autism?
Start with one routine and three or four steps, placed where that routine happens at your child’s eye level. Point to the first picture, say the step in the same simple, natural words, do it together, and move the card to “all done.” Offer a choice inside each step when you can, like which shirt to wear. Repeat it the same way each day. Over a few weeks, wait a little longer before you prompt so your child begins checking the schedule on their own.
Is There a Free Visual Schedule Printable?
Yes. Soar’s free printable includes pictures for home routines that you can print out to make your own at-home visual schedule. Photos you take of your own home work just as well, and many toddlers recognize them faster than drawings.
Should I Use an App or Paper?
For toddlers and preschoolers, paper or photo cards are usually the easiest place to start, because your child can touch them, carry them, and move them to “all done.” Some older children do well with a schedule app on a tablet. Use whichever your child understands and uses on their own.
Is a First-Then Board the Same as a Reward Chart?
No. A reward chart tracks behavior over days and pays out later. A first-then board shows the next two things in order, and “then” happens right after “first,” even if “first” was messy. It’s about making the next step clear, not about earning or losing something.
Do I Need an Autism Diagnosis to Use a Visual Schedule?
No. Visual schedules help many young children, and preschool classrooms use them for the whole room. If transitions are hard and you are also noticing differences in how your child communicates, plays, or connects, those can be among the early signs of autism worth sharing with your pediatrician. Every state and territory also has an early intervention program for children under 3, with services free or reduced cost for children who are eligible.
Want a second set of eyes on your child’s routines? Soar’s therapists build visual supports into play-based therapy every day, and our care team is glad to talk through whether that kind of support fits your child. Make an appointment to start the conversation.
